Ricky Barnes goes from rage to record
Photos
Bethpage Black
Tiger Woods
Phil Mickelson
Ricky Barnes used to throw his golf bag in bursts of anger and frustration, to the dismay of his caddie - brother Andy, whose cell phone was inside. The phone was crushed. "Twice," Andy said Saturday.
The younger Barnes is more disciplined and focused now, according to both brothers, and the only thing he broke Saturday was a U.S. Open record. He finished the delayed second round with a 65 to complete 36 holes in 132 strokes, one better than the mark Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh shot at Olympia Fields in 2003.
"It's pretty cool," Barnes said. He held the lead at 8 under par before the field began the third round of the rain-besotted tournament Saturday evening.
"Obviously, at the beginning of the week, you didn't think that score was out there. Obviously, [having] some tees moved up and the soft greens helped out. And obviously, my ball-striking was the most impressive part of the first 36 holes. Pretty stress-free.
"Also, if you would have told me I would have been 8 under and only have a one-shot lead, I would have said, 'You're kidding me.' But I'll take it."
He is both taking it easy and taking nothing for granted these days, having never really seen his PGA Tour career take off the way it once seemed it would. Barnes won the 2002 U.S. Amateur, played in the 2003 Masters with Tiger Woods and beat Woods by seven shots in the first round. Barnes, then 22, finished 21st at Augusta and appeared to be on his way.
Yet he didn't make the PGA Tour until this year. He has only conditional status, getting into the events that the elite players skip. "You play two weeks and you ride the bench for two weeks because you're not getting any tournaments," he said.
He compared himself to a college basketball star who takes three years to earn his spot in the NBA. "Here, you get kind of thrown into the pack of wolves and go to Q School and you have to earn it. But I like it. The only guy I can blame is the guy in the mirror, and that's why I love this sport."
Barnes, whose dad, Bruce, was a punter for the Patriots 35 years ago, said he was "humbled" by struggling on the Nationwide Tour. He changed swing coaches. He adopted the work ethic that had put him in great shape after he was teased for being fat in high school.
"He has grown up," said his brother, a former player on the Canadian Tour. "He has understood this process and appreciated the process. He had no appreciation of how hard it is to get out here. Now he knows he's out here and he's got to work even harder to stay out here.
"I don't think Ricky is really awed by the stage anymore. He has played five U.S. Opens, a British. It's not like this is his first rodeo," Andy said, adding that he now keeps his cell phone in his pocket, just to be safe. "I think he was beating Tiger after the first two rounds he played with him, but two rounds don't make a tournament.''
